Past Endings

PRONUNCIATION OF THE REGULAR PAST

Verbs in the regular past always end with a -d in their spelling, but the pronunciation of the past ending is not always the same. The most common spellingcharacteristic of the regular past is that -ed is added to the base form of the verb: opened, knocked, stayed, etc.

A) Verbs that end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced /d/:‘b’ rubbed, described, robbed, combed, etc.
‘g’ begged, dragged, plugged, tugged, etc.
‘ng’ banged, belonged, longed, etc.
‘nge’ arranged, changed, exchanged, etc.
‘dge’ damaged, emerged,judged, managed, etc.
‘l’ called, filled, pulled, smiled, traveled, etc.
‘m’ assumed, claimed, combed, etc.
‘n’ cleaned, explained, listened, opened, etc.
vowel + ’r’ answered, appeared, dared,etc.
‘v’ arrived, lived, loved, moved, proved, etc.
‘z’ seized, accused, closed, excused, refused, etc.
vowel + ‘y’ delayed, obeyed, played, etc
consonant + ‘y’ buried, carried, married, worried,fried, dried, tried, replied, etc.
‘th’ bathed, lathed, etc.
‘ee’ agreed, freed, guaranteed, etc.
‘oy’ annoyed, destroyed, employed, enjoyed, etc.
‘o/ow’ borrowed, followed, showed, videoed, etc.‘ue’ argued, continued, rescued, reviewed, etc.

B) Verbs that are pronounced /t/ in the past:

/k/ asked, joked, liked, walked, locked, looked, picked, talked, thanked, worked, etc
/s/addressed, crossed, danced, discussed, faced, guessed, missed, etc.
/t∫/ matched, reached, switched, touched, etc.
/∫/ crashed, finished, pushed, washed, etc.
/f/ coughed, laughed, stuffed, etc.
/p/camped, developed, dropped, helped, hoped, jumped, shopped, stopped, etc.
/x/ axed, boxed, foxed, relaxed, waxed, etc.

C) Verbs that are pronounced /id/ in the past:

Base form ending in /d/:added, afforded, attended, avoided, decided, ended, handed, included, mended, minded, needed, provided, reminded, skidded, etc.

Base form ending in /t/: admitted, attempted, collected, completed,...